Goodbye Old Friend
by TheUnkownAuthor
Summary: In memory of Christine Cavanaugh.


_**I was notified by Celrock that Christine Cavanaugh, the voice of Chuckie for the majority of the Rugrats franchise, passed away about a week ago at 51. This story is written in her honour.**_

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><p>"I'm sorry, he's not gonna survive much longer. The impact was too much on his body." said .<p>

The friends were all in shock. And so were their kids and grandkids. Was it really true? Was this the end?

Only 3 of the 4 Finster kids were there to hear this, but they were appalled. David fell to his knees sobbing, his older sister, Melinda, wrapping her arms around him in comfort. They were both adults now, all married and with children. David's daughter began throwing a big tantrum. Nikki's triplets all wrapped themselves in a big group hug. All the other kids remained silent in respect. The friends, their grandparents, were appalled.

"No... it can't be. He's my brother. I'm not ready." whimpered Kimi

"I'm afraid we can't save him. His body was already suffering enough with the disease, there is nothing more we can do. The fact that he developed its all occuring now at 81 is far better than his mother's situation was."

In the past few months, Chuckie had been suffering from AAT deficiency, the same respiratory disease that took his mother. She had done a lot with her life health-wise. She had diabetes from birth, and survived cancer, but after a childhood full of second-hand smoke, and enduring childbirth, Melinda had just taken too much out of her body to beat AAT deficiency, especially since there was no known cure or treatment at the time. Chuckie was not going to live past the sundown today, and his friends decided, now was the time to see him.

They walked in, and immediately, Kimi, Chasity, and Kirk all ran to their eldest sibling, and hugged him, Kimi bursting into tears. "Oh Chuckie, please no!" she cried

"Kimi, calm yourself, we both knew this was happening." Chuckie replied weakly

"I can't bear to see you like this. How can this happen now?"

"Kimi, its the reality of life."

*sniff* "I'm sorry, about all the times I wasn't necessarily that good of a sister."

Chuckie smiled "I'm sorry I wasn't too awesome of a brother myself."

They shared one last hug, and then, Bassem walked up to him, and grasped his hand. "I'll never forget you bro, it sucks that things have to end for you like this." he said

"Pray for me bro, just pray for me like the magic you believe it can give."

"A tear rolled down Bassem's face, and he hugged Chuckie

"Bring the kids over here." Chuckie said after Bassem let go

Melinda, David, and Nikki all walked forward.

"Sorry the last quarter of us couldn't make it. Delay at British airlines." explained David

"That's alright, its the reality of life. The three of you, and your kids, come over here."

"All of Chuckie's kids and grandkids got around him, and hugged him.

"All of you, make sure you live as happy lives as possible after I'm gone. David, keep doing what you do, Nikki, never give up, and Melinda, your grandmother, both Melinda, and Kira would be so proud of what you have become. You are a mirrored image of everything that was perfect about both of them."

"Oh Dad!' cried Melinda

They all joined into one last group hug, then separated.

Tommy walked up next. He knew how tough life had been on Chuckie. He had had quite the adult life. A short but memorable basketball career. A successful T.V. personality as a house flipper for decades, only for it to now end. True, life hadn't always been amazing though. He had been widowed decades ago, the first of the group to suffer it. Lil died at 63, on the 25th anniversary of the plane crash that changed her life forever. Chuckie had been living with David and his family ever since, because his kids thought he would feel lonely. Today was also a day that didn't necessarily feel easy. Some thugs had tried to rob Tommy. Chuckie defended his friend, but being the hero came at a cost. He beat them unconscious with a baseball bat from the garage, but not before one of them stabbed him.

"You are about to die because you saved my life." Tommy whimpered "Why?"

"Because, you would've done the same for me." Chuckie chuckled

"How can you be laughing? You are about to die."

"Its one of the certainties of life, nothing to it really." he said

Tommy nodded as he began to cry, hugging his best friend in a tight embrace.

He put Chuckie down, and as that was done, Chuckie knew it was coming. He felt breathless. His lungs were no longer working because of the lack of the AAT protein needed. Within seconds, the lack of oxygen would stop his heart, and he'd be gone. He saw the white light, he heard his father, he heard Lil, heard his adoptive-mom, he heard... his mother.

"It's alright Chuckie, don't be scared." he heard her say. The same things she would always say whenever he dreamed about her.

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><p>His entire life flashed before his eyes, his birth mother, his father, his adoptive-mother, his sister, his twin siblings, the day Chas introduced him to Tommy, the day his parents wed, his own wedding, the last scene was the bigggest: The day of Lil's funeral.<p>

After all of that, he heard a deep, familiar voice. "Chuckie, you have done well with your life. You lived selflessly, happily and to your fullest. And as a sign of my pride, I will bestow upon you, the reward of eternal happiness in heaven."

Chuckie smiled then walked in. Her knew that what he saw when he meditated was real.

He was greeted by St. Peter, as all people who entered heaven were, and then, he when he walked past the gates, he noticed something, his age, he could control the age he was. He decided to first, return to his youthful, 17-year-old body, and did so. He found himelf in that body. The same body that he fought and beat depression in. The body was also not far from the one he'd gotten married, and had his children in (only a few inches shorter.) He found himself in the park. he began running around, swinging from monkey bars and running around, doing several different yoga poses for the fun of it. Then, he heard a voice.

"Hey! You wanna wait for me before you get started?" he heard the woman say.

He turned and saw Kira. His jaw dropped. He sprinted to his adoptive-step-mother, and wrapped his arms around her. She was not the age she was when she died. She was only in her mid-forties in heaven, the same age she was at the time Chuckie was 17. His mother's embrace warmed him the same way it always had, and he missed it very much, especially since she had died many years ago.

"How are you Aiji?" she asked

"Never better!" Chuckie answered

She walked him to the Java Lava, there, he saw his father.

"DAD!" Chuckie exclaimed

The father and son wrapped their arms around each other. Chas, like Kira, was the same age he was when Chuckie was 17. Chas, Chuckie's hero. The man who readily raised him as a widowed single father for over a year. Chuckie never knew how much he truly loved and appreciated his father until this moment.

Hey Chuckie, there is someone who really wants to see you." Chas said

"Who?" his son asked

"Someone who has waited far too long." said a tall, orange-haired woman.

"Oh my God!" Chuckie exclaimed.

After a few minutes of reconnecting with his parents. The phone in Chuckie's pocket rang. He answered, and heard a woman, the most special women in the world to him.

"Hey, Chuckie, can you meet me at the swings?"

within seconds, Chuckie was out of the Java Lava, and sprinting towards the swings. Could it truly be?

Yes, it was. There she stood. With all her beauty. Her curly brown hair flowing in the wind. Her eyes shining. Chuckie ran straight to her, and kissed her. The love of his Life, Lillian Finster. They playfully tussled on the sand as they reunited. Once they were out of energy, they sat on the bench.

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><p>The line on the monitor went blank. The doctor put a stethoscope to his heart. "I'm sorry, he's gone."<p>

The entire room filled with sobs.

"My older brother!" *sniff* "My friend!" "cried Kimi

"My greatest friend in this whole world. My most favourite person ever." *sniff* "My bestest friend, and he is gone." Tommy cried

They all joined in a group hug, as they all sobbed.

"He's is in a better place now, I know it!" said Bassem

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><p>"They really miss me, huh?" asked Chuckie to Lil<p>

"Yeah, I guess so." Lil replied "Don't worry. It does get better, both for them and you."

She wrapped her comforting around her husband, as he fought back the tears forming from watching his elderly, life-long friends mourn him next to his old, lifeless body.

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><p>A few days later, Chuckie's funeral was held. It was attended by all his friends and family. They all joined in his mourning, each person gave a speech about how they knew Chuckie, Kimi needing her son, Kai, to finish her words for her, as she and Tommy were unable to finish a single sentence. Tommy continued to cry into Dil's shoulder, and Kimi into Chasity and Kirk's.<p>

That night, everyone went home, but one person. He had stayed in front of his father's grave until night time, not even having realized it. Eventually, he heard someone tap on his shoulder. It was his Uncle Tommy & Aunt Kimi.

Kimi had finally pulled herself together, but it was clear Tommy hadn't quite yet.

Kimi crouched next to her nephew and laid a hand on his shoulder. "I know its hard." she said

"I didn't even notice the sun went down. All I felt was that I was talking to him." David whimpered to his aunt.

Kimi wrapped her arm around him. "David, your own children need you right now. Come on, let's go."

David looked at her and nodded. It was what his father wanted from him. He walked with his aunt, and as he did, he noticed that his uncle didn't move.

"Uncle Tommy, come on."

Tommy turned his head to David. "C-Can you drive your aunt home David, I kind of need to be alone." Tommy stammered

David nodded, as he and his aunt walked to his car.

Tommy looked at the tombstone and sighed. A lifetime of friendship, and it was all gone now. But was it forever? He put his right hand on the tombstone and exhaled, he then whispered to the tombstone:

"Hello Old Friend."

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><p><em><strong>This story is dedicated to Christine Cavanaugh, who voiced Babe, Dexter from Dexter's Lab, and most notably, Chuckei Finster. She passed away on December 22, 2014 at the age of 51 to unknown causes (at the time I am writing this.) She will forever be remembered by all people in this fandom, and the many fans she had through her work.<strong>_


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